Addressing gathering at the inaugural of tournament, the minister highlighted the sports policy and maintained that an integrated sports stadium would be built on a 150-acre sprawling site. He advised the youth to give equal importance to sports along with academics. There is a plan to give marks weightage to students excel in sports, he added.

Raghu engineering college student selected for Ranji trophy has been awarded a cash prize of Rs 20,000. The minister felicitated sports journalists’ G Narsimha Rao and Umamaheswara Rao. AU Vice-Chancellor Nageswara Rao said that the Association of Indian Universities entrusted the AU with conducting two prestigious tournaments.

He congratulated the Raghu College of Engineering management for co-hosting the tournament with the AU. University Registrar Umamaheswara Rao recalled that the AU has been hosting the tournament after two decades.

Kalidindi Raghu, Chairman, Raghu Engineering College, exhorted the sportsmen to take part in the event with the spirit of sportsman. In all, 98 teams representing various universities in five states has been taking part in the tournament. The tournament matches will be held at various venues in Vizianagaram and Visakhapatnam besides at the Raghu Engineering College.